(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to waterproof electrical connectors, and more particularly to a means for achieving full electrical connection between corresponding plug and receptacle sections without hydraulic lock occurring between the sections when sealably connecting the two sections together.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
It is well-known that many types of electrical connectors are attached to equipment which are deployed underwater such as sonar systems and the like. Such equipment requires repair or routine maintenance from time to time. This repair or maintenance, however, necessitates removal of the equipment from the submerged location and therefor concomitant disconnection of all electrical connectors attached thereto. on occasion connector seals have failed, the connectors by themselves have flooded and then shorted, requiring replacement or refurbishment. In order to then reconnect the removed equipment or repair the connectors, the installation location must somehow be made dry or else one of the present, commercially available, underwater (UW) mateable type electrical connectors must have been used to make the connection. These present underwater mateable connectors, however, are well-known to be bulky, expensive and generally not available in sufficient quantity. Further, when intended for submarine sonar use, present UW mateable connectors are also of limited value due to their not having been designed to meet exacting military specifications.
A solution to the foregoing problems identified above can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,751 to Marolda. In this patent, there is disclosed a connector having a plug and a receptacle with an elastomeric electrical isolation membrane positioned therebetween for assisting in completing the electrical isolation of the connection under water. By employing the isolation membrane, the original O-ring was removed and the isolation disk made the connector suitable for underwater use.
One problem associated with this connector, however, is that the removal of the O-ring allowed free flooding of the plug and receptacle cavities. By removing the O-ring, the connector is exposed to internal ambient pressure since the O-ring seals the plug and receptacle of the connector so as to prevent this internal ambient pressure. The O-ring also seals the connector before a sufficient amount of water is pushed out of the plug and receptacle cavities. This results in-undesirable hydraulic lock (xe2x80x9chydrolockxe2x80x9d) which prevents an electrical isolation of the connectors since the plug and receptacle are not fully sealed.
Accordingly, it is a general purpose and object of the present invention to provide a means for permitting electrical connectors to be mated under water such that full electrical isolation is established without hydrolock occurring between the plug and receptacle of the connector.
It is further object that such electrical isolation means be useable in combination with existing, dry-assembly type, underwater electrical connectors.
Another object is that such electrical isolation means be producible at low cost.
Still another object is that such electrical isolation means exhibit dielectric properties while having a high degree of hydrolytic stability.
These objects are accomplished with the present invention by providing an electrical connector comprising a plug section having a body, and a receptacle section adapted to be connected to the plug section. The plug and receptacle sections are formed such that one the sections has a cylindrical extension extending beyond the face and the other section has an annular flange disposed radially outwardly with respect to said cylindrical extension. A circumferential groove formed in a selected one of the plug section and receptacle section, and a. collapsible seal is disposed within the groove. The arrangement is such that upon sealingly connecting the receptacle section to the plug section, any hydrostatic forces present in the chamber between the receptacle section and the plug section causes the collapsible seal to collapse within the groove thereby providing a volume defined by the groove which receives fluid therein for preventing hydrostatic lock.